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A HISTORY OF THE JEWS OF MOBILE 



REV. ALFRED G.- MOSES, 
Mobile, Ala. 



Reprinted from The Publications of the American Jewish 
Historical Society. No. 12. 



C^e Bovi a^adimovt (pxttfe 

THE FniEDEXWALD COMPANY 
BALTIMORE, MD., r. S. A. 



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A HISTOEY OF THE JEWS OF MOBILE. 
By Rev. Alfred G. Moses, Mobile, Ala. 

The researches which I have made thus far into the history 
of th^ Jews of the Gulf States deal with the history of the 
Jews of Mobile. This portion of my work was written after a 
careful and thorough overhauling of all available sources, and 
has been presented in another form to the Iberville Historical 
Society of Mobile and to the State Department of Alabama 
History, both of which have co-operated in these studies. 
Such parts as may be hereafter written will be presented to 
your society. In addition to separate local and State histories, 
I propose to write a new biography of Judah P. Benjamin. 
I shall be grateful to any member of the Society who can fur- 
nish me information on the subject of Mr. Benjamin's life. 

The history of the Jews of Mobile can be divided into two 
parts or periods. The first may be called the preorganization 
and the second the organization period. The first period is 
the history of individual Jews who sojourned or settled in 
Mobile but who made no effort to organize a Jewish congrega- 
tion either from indifference or lack of numbers. The second 
period commences with the organization of a distinct Jewish 
congregation and the beginnings of Jewish life, religious and ' 
social. 

The first period in the Jewish history of Mobile extends 
through several decades after the territory came into the 
possession of the United States. From the year 1724 when the 
first reference is found to Jews in Mobile and Louisiana 
till the year 1841, when the Jewish congregation was 
organized, the history of the Mobile Jews is largely a his- 
tory of individuals. In order to discover the traces of Jews 
during the colonial and early federal periods I made a careful 
8 



114 American Jewish Historical Society. 

examination of all the sources according to the various epochs 
in the general history of the city. 

Mobile was settled in 1701 by the French under Le 
Moj^ne de Bienville and Le Moyne d'Iberville and made the 
first capital of Louisiana. The principal source of the 
Colony's early history is the record of births, christenings, 
marriages and burials which was kept by the priests 
of the Mobile diocese from 1701 till 1813. However, 
no data, bearing on my subject could be found in these 
records. The first distinct reference to Jews in the 
Louisiana colony in which Mobile was included is foimd in 
the "Black Code of Louisiana," issued in 1724 by Bienville, 
the governor of the colony from New Orleans, its capital at 
that time. The Code is reprinted in full in Gayarre's " His- 
tory of Louisiana." ^ The first two articles of the code read 
as follows : "Article I : Decrees the expulsion of the Jews 
from the colony. Article II : Permits the exercise of the 
Roman Catholic worship only. Every other code of worship 
is prohibited." Strange to say, the rest of the code deals 
with laws regulating the sale and conduct of negro slaves. 
Gayarre finds the reference to the Jews irrelevant to the gen- 
eral subject-matter of the code. My own explanation of the 
anti-Jewish laws, which is supported by a good authority, is 
that they were merely a repetition of the similar legislation 
current in France at the time of Louis XIV.' Drastic as the 
^law appears, it was probably never enforced, because there 
are no further references to it in Louisiana records. The 
expulsion of the Jews from America would have been in the 
sixteenth century an event worthy of the chronicler's notice. 
The inference can rightly be drawn, also, that there was a 
considerable number of Jews in the French colony and possi- 
bly a few in Mobile. However, a careful scrutiny of all the 

' Gayarre's " History of Louisiana in French Dominion," New 
Orleans, 1885, Appendix. 

' Hamilton, " Colonial Mobile," Boston and New York, 1898, p. 
362. 






A History of the Jews of Mobile — Moses. 115 

names mentioned by Gayarre and Hamilton, the authorities on 
colonial Gulf history, has not revealed any name of a Jewish 
character in the period of French control of lower Alabama. 

In the British epoch of Mobile's colonial history, which 
extended from 1763 to 1780, an interesting reference to a Jew 
is citable/ Major Robert Farmer, the British commandant 
of Mobile, was accused, among other charges, of selling flour 
belonging to the King to New Orleans, or selling or attempt- 
ing to sell it there by means of " Pallachio, a Jew." The 
Major was afterwards acquitted of the charges. 

In Hamilton's " Colonial Mobile " a certain Frangois 
Simon is mentioned in a law suit as companion of a certain 
Frangois Robert, who in 1766 was advanced goods by Thomas 
Durnford, of New Orleans, but " who left the country and 
went to trade among the Indians." * The name Simon is Jew- 
ish, and the particular Simon may have been a Jew, because 
in the eighteenth century many Jews were trappers and 
traders in the country west of the Appalachian ranges. The 
matter could not be traced further. 

In the British epoch of Mobile history there occurs the first 
indisputable reference to probably the first Jewish merchants 
in Mobile." The document in which the reference occurs is 
dated August 10th, 1777. It is an original sealed deed-poll 
on genuine parchment, by Arthur Strother, one of the ]\Ias- 
ters in Chancery of West Florida. In it he conveys to Daniel 
Ward, Esq., the plantations of Lis Loy, Goose Island, near 
Mobile. The instrument gives the history of the property 
from French through English times. It was originally held 
by the Chevalier de Montaut de Montberault, who obtained it 
from the Governor Kerlerec. He, with one Fontenot, sold it 
on July 9th to Samuel Israel, Alexander Solomons and Joseph 

^ Douglas Brymer, " Report on Canadian Archives," Ottawa, 1888, 
cited by Hamilton, " Colonial Mobile," pp. 196 and 202. 

* Hamilton, " Colonial Mobile," p. 203. 

"Mobile Probate Court Records, cited and discussed also by 
Hamilton, " Colonial Mobile," p. 235. 



116 American Jewish Historical Society. 

Depalocios, " merchants and co-partners at Mobile." They 
were indebted to a merchant in Pensacola, by name Thomp- 
son, and mortgaged to him the Lis Loy plantation. The debt 
was not paid and, by the terms of a bill of foreclosure, the 
property was sold to the above mentioned Daniel Ward. There 
is not the slightest doubt that the defendants were Jewish 
merchants. 

The records of the Spanish period of Mobile colonial his- 
tory, which extended from 1781 to 1813, do not reveal any 
references to Jews. If there were any here during this epoch, 
they have left no positive traces. 

The American period of Mobile history began in 1813. 
The chief sources for the early decades of the federal history 
are the files of the newspapers dating from 1821, and the 
records of deeds, marriages, wills and divorces. An examina- 
tion of these sources revealed the names of many Jews who 
settled or stopped in Mobile during the early part of the 
nineteenth century. Many of these became later identified 
with the Jewish congregation, but, as has been true of the 
beginnings of Jewish communities the world over, many Jews 
drifted away from Jewish associations or intermarried from 
necessity. Some of these became the ancestors of prominent 
Christian families in Mobile and the South. 

In the earliest files of the Register the names of Jews are 
frequently found. A Mr. H. P. Fleischman was secretary of 
the Mobile Masonic Lodge in 1821." Solomon H. Davy' 
(probably misspelled for David) and a Mr. Jacobs* are re- 
ferred to in a list of uncalled-for letters at the Post Ofiice. 
One of the earliest schools in Alabama was conducted by a 
Jewish teacher, a Mr. Judah, who was doubtless a Sephardic 
Jew.' The name of Simon David is included in the list of 

• Mobile Commercial Register, December 31, 1821. 
'Ibid., December 31, 1821. 
'Ibid., July 8, 1822. 
'Ibid., October 3, 1822. 



A History of the Jews of Mohile — Moses. 117 

delinquents in 1823." In 1833 an English Jew by name of 
George Davis advertised frequently in the local press. It 
seems that he had moved to Mobile from Tuscaloosa, for he 
wished to exchange suitable property in the latter town for 
property in Mobile." In 1824 he became a resident of Mobile 
and lived here until his death in 1850 at the age of seventy. 
His tombstone is found in the old Jewish cemetery of Mobile." 
He engaged in various kinds of business and was the first 
auctioneer in Mobile." His son was also engaged in business 
in Mobile in the 20's and 30's, and in 1837 was married to 
Eoseanna Dunn." The wife of George Davis, Rosetta Davis, 
who was born in London, is also buried in the old Jewish 
graveyard. A Mr. Abraham Zuba is mentioned in the files 
of 1824 of the MoUle Register. ^^ In 1824 there settled in 
Mobile a Jewish physician by name of Dr. Solomon Mordecai, 
who became a leader in his profession and a popular charac- 
ter." He did not aflQliate religiously or socially with the Jews, 
but his Jewish antecedents were never denied. He conducted 
a successful practice till late in the 50's. His family, who 
are all Christians, are still living in Mobile. Two brothers, 
Isaac and Henry Lazarus, conducted business in Mobile as 
early as 1827. They were Sephardic Jews from Philadelphia, 
where they returned in later years and ended their days. 
From a deed in the Probate Court it appears that they bought 
and sold real estate in Mobile, either directly or by agent, to 
John Moss, who was a leading shipowner of Philadelphia, 
early in the nineteenth century." 

^"Ibid., September 18, 1823. 

^lUd., November 1, 1823. 

^^Vide, List of names and inscriptions in old Jewish burial 
ground, prepared by Alfred G. Moses in MS. form. 

^^ Mohile Commercial Register, November 30, 1824 and Decem- 
ber 12, 1827. 

"Marriage records, Mobile county, in Probate Court room. 

^''Mohile Commercial Register, October 3, 1824. 

^^ Mobile Commercial Register, March 3, 1824. 

" Marken's " Hebrews in America," 1888, New York City, p. 75. 



118 American Jewish Historical Society. 

The marriage records of Mobile contain frequent refer- 
ences to Jews before the year 1841, when the congregation 
was organized. A James B. Marks was married in 1830; 
Cuffman Oppenheimer in 1831; George Davis, Jr., in 1837; 
Isaac B. Davis, Mungo H. Goldsmith and Philip Goldsmith 
in 1841. All of them intermarried with Christians." The 
first strictly Jewish marriage in Mobile was solemnized in 
1847 between Henry Frohlichstein and Sarah Leib." 

The deeds of sales of conveyance of property issued in the 
20's, 30's and 40's in the names of Jews are too numerous to 
be mentioned. The oldest bears the name of Isaac Lazarus, 
Grantor, in 1820." C. L. Andrews, Solomon Andrews, Isaac 
Davis, George Davis, Isaac Isaacs, Solomon Jones, Henry 
Lazarus, Isaac Lyon, Dr. S. Mordecai, Benjamin Xewliouse 
and Simon Oppenheimers are names frequently occurring. 
Early in the 30's the Andrews brothers, E. L., J. I. and Solo- 
mon, occupied a prominent place in the commercial world. 
There are more than forty deeds recorded in the name of the 
first mentioned. Success seems to have attended them 
througliout the 30's, but in the early and late 40's they met 
with reverses, and from humiliation, E. L. and Solomon 
Andrews committed suicide in a tragical manner by pre- 
arrangement, one in New Orleans and one in Mobile, at ex- 
actly the same time. The Solomon brothers were prominent 
in the late 30's. In 1841 Mr. E. Solomon was a member of 
a committee appointed by the Whig party to notify the can- 
didates of their nomination.*' The Jones brothers, Isaac S. 
and Solomon, who in later years became the leaders in Jew- 
ish affairs, settled in Mobile not later than 1831 from 
England.'" In 1841 a Mr. B. J. Newhouse conducted what 

^^ Marriage Records of Mobile County, alphabetically indexed. 

'"Ibid. 

^ Probate Court Records, D. 38. 

"Mobile Covimercial Register, June 16, 1841. 

^ Probate Court Records, F. 468. 



A History of the Jews of Mobile — Moses. 119 

was ostentatiously advertised as a " Music Saloon " on Water 
Street. 

In 1834 there came to Mobile a Jew who was to hold / 

higher honors in his adopted State than any other of his 
people."' Philip Philip^ was born in Charleston, S. C, in 
1807, of German JewiJi parents. He read law under the 
famous John Gadsden and was admitted to the bar at the 
age of twenty-two. His legal and political talent was soon 
shown, for he was the youngest member of the famous nulli- 
fication convention of 1834. In the same year he was elected 
to the Legislature, but resigned and settled in Mobile. Here 
he came at once to the front as a lawyer, and in 1844 was 
elected to the Legislature. In the following year he composed 
his famous digest of the decisions of the Supreme Court. In 
1846 he was elected to the first judgeship of the newly formed 
Criminal Court, but declined the honor. In 1851 he was 
again returned to the Legislature, and in 1853 achieved a 
notable triumph over the Hon. Elihu Lockwood in the race 
for Congress. After serving in Congress, where he made a 
national reputation, he remained in Washington to practice 
law. Through his efforts the Court of Claims was estab- 
lished in 1859. Although opposed to secession, Mr. Philip^s 
and his family were compelled to go within the Confederale..-.— ---^ 
lines in 1861. While in New Orleans, Mrs. Philipts was im- 
prisoned for three months by General Butler f^ an alleged, 
insult at the passing of the funeral of a Federal oflScer. After 
her release she was received as a heroine. After the war Mr. 
Philipps returned to Washington, where he wrote a work on 
" Statutory Jurisdiction and Practice " of the United States 
Supreme Court. He died there, honored for his erudition 
and character.^* 

The gradual increase of the Jewish population of Mobile 

"^ Brewer, " Alabama; Its History, Resources, etc.," Montgomery, 
1872, p. 406. 
"From personal recollections of many Mobilians. 



u 



120 American Jewish Historical Society. 

during the early 40's led to the organization of a Jewish con- 
gregation. The first notice of it is in a deed recorded in the 
Probate Court, in which the Congregation " Shaarai Sho- 
majam " purchased from the city four lots for burial pur- 
poses. The deed is dated June 22nd, IS-il.** Religious ser- 
vices were held first at the residence of a Mr. B. L. Tim. Not 
until June 25th, 1844, was the congregation duly incorpo- 
rated." It was called " Shaarai Shoraayim," or " the Con- 
gregation of the Gates of Heaven " and " Friends of the 
the Needy." The first president was Mr. I. I. Jones, who 
held the position for more than thirty years, and came to 
occupy a prominent place in Jewish and general affairs. He 
was a man of mental and moral superiority, and exerted a 
strong influence for good upon the Jewish com^munity of 
Mobile for three decades. He was a member of the City 
Council and the first promoter of a street railway in Mobile. 
His youngest daughter became the wife of the well-known 
Rabbi James K. Gutheim, of New Orleans. 

No regular rabbi was employed at first, services being read 
by laymen. The first synagogue was the Turner Yerein Hall 
on St. Emanuel Street. The structure is no longer in exist- 
ence. It was dedicated on December 27th, 1846. The first 
rabbi was the Reverend Mendez da Silva, who served until 
1848. Unfortunately, the congregation records till 1876 have 
been lost, and a consecutive history had to be gathered 
.from personal reminiscences and a few newspaper records. 
The data being fragmentary, a complete history of the growth 
and progress of the congregation cannot be presented. The 
portion which begins with the early 60's is easier to compile, 
for many persons are living who have a clear and connected 
knowledge of those years. 

As has been stated, provision was made for burial purposes 
as early as 1841. Michael Lyons was the first Jew buried in 
this old graveyard, abandoned in 1878, when it was completely 

** Probate Court Records. 
^Probate Court Records, 10, 296-7. 



A History of the Jews of MoUle — Moses. 121 

filled with graves, close to one another/" The frequenc}^ of 
tombs bearing the dates of 1853;, 1857 and 1870 are melan- 
choly reminders of the yellow fever plagues of those years 
which decimated the Southern communities. In the center 
of the plot, an imposing monument is erected over the remains 
of Eabbi Abraham Laser, who died in 1870 of yellow fever, 
which he contracted while attending the sick and the dying. 

The following facts about the early Jews of Mobile are of 
interest and value: The first long-distance conveyance in 
Mobile was conducted by the Heller brothers. Mr. Abraham 
Newburger and Prof. Joseph Bloch were among the first teach- 
ers of music in Alabama. They later conducted the first music 
store in the State. A Mr. Solomon was the pioneer optician 
of Alabama. 

The Eev. Mendes da Silva was succeeded by Mr. Baruch M. 
Emanuel, who acted as schochet and chasan of the com- 
munity from 1848 to 1853. In the meantime the Jewish com- 
munity had grown so large that the old synagogue was found 
inadequate. With his usual progressiveness, Mr. I. I. Jones 
purchased from the Mobile Musical Association its hall, located 
on the present site of the synagogue. The building was 
altered and dedicated on March 11th, 1853, by Eabbi Julius 
Eckman, who was the successor of Mr. Emanuel. I have 
learned that Mr. Eckman was a rabbi of thorough Hebrew and 
general education. He remained only a year in Mobile and 
then went to California. It would be interesting to reproduce 
in full the comments passed by the Mohile Register of that date 
upon the dedication exercises if the limits of this sketch did not 
forbid.'^ This excerpt reflects the journalistic attitude of the 
early day towards the Jew : " The synagogue is worthy in all 
respects the high character of our Jewish brethren for wealth, 
intelligence and character. How proud must the enfranchised 
descendants of the patriarchs have felt yesterday who were 

" List of Names and Inscriptions of old Mobile burial ground 
prepared in MSS. by Alfred G. Moses. 
=* Mobile Commercial Register, November 12, 1853. 



122 American Jewish Historical Society. 

some time since the slaves and serfs of Russia, Austria and 
Prussia. Poor Poland." 

The correct facts in the history of the congregation from 
1853 to 1865 are hard to ascertain. There are many conflict- 
ing impressions of this period. The succession of rabbis is 
hard to determine. According to one old resident the con- 
gregation was presided over for several years bj' a Mr. J. 
Epstein, who also officiated for a while for a second congre- 
gation which seceded from the mother body. Still another 
person claims that the Mr. Emanuel who had served before 
Eabbi Eckman also officiated during the 50's. In a Mobile 
history, however, I find the name of Rev. Dr. Schatz, M. D., 
as the officiating rabbi who had been entirely forgotten by the 
survivors of the 50's. I hope, by further inquiries, to disen- 
tangle this historical difficulty. 

There is also much conflicting testimony regarding both 
the date of the fire which destroyed the entire building either 
in 1855 or 1856; and date of its re-dedication by Rabbi 
Gutheim, of New Orleans. Who was rabbi then is still a dis- 
puted question. 

In the 50's the Jewish community received its largest acces- 
sions. Most of the Jewish families of Mobile to-day are 
descendants of the Jewish settlers of the 50's. The city 
directory of 1855 gives the names of more than fifty places of 
business conducted by Jews. The community numbered prob- 
ably seventy-five families. 

At the time of the Civil War the Mr. Epstein above men- 
tioned was the rabbi. When war was declared, the com- 
munity furnished its quota of soldiers to the Southern cause. 
The Twelfth Alabama contained no less than fifteen Jewish 
soldiers from Mobile.*** The most prominent among them was 

°a The names of the Jews enlisted in the Independent Rifles of 
the Twelfth Alabama Regiment, organized at Mobile in 1861, are 
L. Newman, second sergeant; A. Proskauer, corporal; F. Neubrik, 
S. Pickard, J. Sonnentheil, S. Rosdwald. A. Einstein. S. Stein, 
W. H. Rochotsh, S. Haas, L. Siegel, H. Ash and S. Altman, pri- 
vates. 



A History of the Jews of Mobile — Moses. 133 

Adolph Proskauer, who enlisted as a corporal and rose to the 
rank of major. He fought at the battles of Seven Pines, 
South Mountain, Sharpsburg, Chancellorsville and Gettys- 
burg. During several engagements he was desperately 
wounded. He was known for his intrepidity, and the follow- 
ing tribute was paid him by a Christian comrade in arms: 
^' I remember him as a brave soldier and a courtly and gallant 
gentleman. I can see him now as he nobly carried himself at 
Gettysburg, standing cool and calm with cigar in his mouth 
at the head of the Twelfth Alabama amid a perfect rain of 
bullets. He was the personification of courage and gal- 
lantry." '^ After the war Major Proskauer returned to Mobile 
where he became the leader of Jewish affairs until his de- 
parture in 1893. He stood so high in Mobile that he was 
twice elected during the critical Eeconstruction days as a 
member of the Legislature, in 1869 and 1870, where he ren- 
dered yeoman service for reconstruction. Among the Jewish 
contingent was Mr. Nathan Strauss, who rose to the rank of 
captain. He too returned to Mobile after the war and became 
prominent in Jewish affairs. In 1870 he was elected a mem- 
ber of the Legislature. Many others whose names cannot be 
mentioned in this brief sketch fought bravely on the Soutliorn 
side, and many Jewish women rendered incalculable service to 
the Southern soldiers in the homes and hospitals of Mobile. 
During the war the normal activities of the congregation 
and community were interrupted. Many families left for 
Few Orleans. After • the war, the community received 
new accessions and the congregation grew in numbers and 
influence. Among the many changes and reforms must be 
mentioned the opening of a Hebrew and secular school by the 
congregation in 1868. In this school a primary and secondary 
education was given, in connection with Hebrew studies. 
Eabbi L. Wintner, now a rabbi in Brooklyn, was made rabbi 

''"Extract from letter by Capt. A. E. Park of Georgia at death 
of Major Proskauer. 



124 American Jewish Historical Society. 

of the congregation and superintendent of the school. The 
institution was maintained till the late 70's, when the secular 
features were gradually abolished. Rabbi Wintner was suc- 
ceeded by Eabbi Maurice Fluegel, who acted as rabbi, and 
by Eabbi Abraham Laser, who acted as chasan. On the 
departure of the former, the latter was elected as rabbi. He 
served until his untimely death during the yellow fever visi- 
tation of 1870. He was succeeded by a certain Abraham 
Yaeger, who created a sensation in the second year of his 
rabbinate by suddenly professing Christianity. His position 
was declared vacant, and Yaeger went to Chicago, where he 
wrote a controversial book in defence of his change of heart, 
entitled "Mind and Heart: An Exposition of Judaism and 
Christianity." It is a curious piece of polemic religious lit- 
erature. Yeager attempts to give a philosophical reason for 
his conversion by the usual Christological argument. 

The vacancy created by his unusual conduct was filled by 
the election of Eabbi Adolph Moses, who was called from his 
Montgomery charge. Educated in the Jewish seminary and 
the Universit}' of Breslau, he added to a profound Jewish and 
general scholarship, a cosmopolitan experience gained as a 
soldier in the Polish and Italian Wars of Independence. Dur- 
ing his long incumbency he left a deep impression upon the 
community and acquired a reputation as a Jewish novelist 
and a Biblical scholar. From Mobile he was called to the 
Louisville Congregation, where he served until the time of his 
death. 

He was succeeded by Eabbi Emanuel Schreiber, who, after 
two 3^ears' service, was followed by Eev. Dr. Henry Berkowitz, 
of Philadelphia. He served five years faithfully and became 
a factor in the religious and public life of Mobile. His suc- 
cessor was Eabbi Oscar J. Cohen, a prominent graduate of 
Columbia, who officiated for ten years and during his incum- 
bency made a profound impression upon Mobile Judaism. 
He left because of ill health and died in 1901 in Dallas. His 
successor was Eabbi Tobias Schanfarber, who occupies a 



A History of the Jews of Mobile — Moses. 125 

prominent pulpit in Chicago. The present incumbent is the 
writer of this sketch. 

The limits of this paper prevent a special mention of all 
Israelites who have held prominent civic and political posi- 
tions in Mobile and who have been identified with the leading 
movements and best institutions. Mr. "William Leinkauf was 
for years the president of the School Board. The Mobile 
Jewish community as it is at present constituted is the result 
of the growth of six decades of a conservative and yet truly 
American Jewish element and illustrates well the force of tra- 
dition and history in an American Jewish environment. The 
historic influence and progress, the writer trusts, he has 
shown with accuracy and clearness. 



LIBRfiRY OF CONGRESS 



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014 540 454 ft 



